ICC deputy prosecutor says ‘breakthrough’ achieved in Darfur investigation

The deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Nazhat Khan, said on Thursday that her office had achieved a "breakthrough" in its investigations into war crimes allegedly committed by parties to the current conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

This comes days after Middle East Eye exclusively revealed that the prosecutor's office has decided not to proceed with an arrest warrant application for a member of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary, which was ready to be filed last year. 

In an interview with the BBC during a visit to refugee camps in Chad, Khan said: "We have now found concrete evidence that links what is happening on the ground through linkage evidence to specific persons in leadership mode."

She has not provided a timeline for when an application might be filed, however. 

"We cannot say how quickly or how long it's going to take," she said.

"But we can say that progress has been significant and that we have achieved a breakthrough."

Applications for arrest warrants are to be filed under seal, according to the court's amended rules.

But MEE revealed last week that the office of the prosecutor has not applied for a single arrest warrant over crimes committed in Darfur since Sudan's devastating civil war began in April 2023, despite more than three years of investigations and repeated public assurances that charges were imminent.

Judges criticise delay

According to numerous sources and court documents, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan told judges in January last year that he intended to file the RSF application imminently. The filing concerned alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in West Darfur since April 2023.

Briefing the UN Security Council on 27 January 2025, Khan said his office was taking the necessary steps to put forward applications for arrest warrants in relation to crimes in West Darfur, singling out gender-based crimes against women and girls as a priority.

For more than a year after Khan's leave of absence began in May 2025 – while he dealt with a misconduct probe and sanctions imposed by the US – the prosecution did not provide any explanation to the pre-trial chamber regarding the late application. 

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Last month, the three-judge panel which sits in the pre-trial chamber criticised the prosecution and ordered it to explain the reason for the delay, and to provide a timeline for filing the application.

It cited statements by Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Khan to the UN Security Council earlier this year describing the deteriorating situation in Darfur, and said the arrest warrants could help prevent further crimes.

The deputy prosecutor is currently in charge of the Darfur investigation. The head of the Darfur team in her office is Pubudu Sachithanandan.  

In a statement to MEE, the prosecutor's office declined to provide information on any progress regarding arrest warrant applications.

It said it has "a duty of confidentiality to the Court as well as to victims and witnesses".

"The investigation has accelerated in recent months, with more focused investigative lines, increased evidence collection and witness interviews, and further analytical work," it said.

"Priority has been given to the investigation of gender-based crimes, and crimes against and affecting children."

The deputy prosecutor is due to deliver a semi-annual briefing on Darfur to the Security Council later this month.

The war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, backed largely by foreign powers, has killed at least tens of thousands of people over the past three years, displaced more than 13 million, and driven more than 19.5 million people to the brink of famine, prompting what the UN and European Union have described as the world's largest humanitarian and displacement crisis.